Conduct & Attitude
過猶不及
과유불급
guò yóu bù jí
Gwa-yu-bul-geup
過
지날 과
猶
오히려 유
不
아닐 불
及
미칠 급
Character by character
Meaning
Going too far is no better than falling short.
Origin
From the Analects, where Confucius compares two disciples and finds excess no better than deficiency.
How it is used
Used when exercise, thrift or anything else crosses the line into harm.
Hanja過猶不及
Simplified过犹不及
Korean reading과유불급
Pinyinguò yóu bù jí
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Gwa-yu-bul-geup mean?
過猶不及 · Going too far is no better than falling short.
Q. Where does Gwa-yu-bul-geup come from?
From the Analects, where Confucius compares two disciples and finds excess no better than deficiency.
Q. How is Gwa-yu-bul-geup used?
Used when exercise, thrift or anything else crosses the line into harm.
Idioms in the same group
有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.靑出於藍 Cheong-chul-eo-ramThe blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.